In Spike TV title fight, Bellator 85's 'Pitbull' to make Curran pay for layoff

Delayed by a hand injury that postponed his title fight and a rematch with Joe Warren, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire said his annoyance only increased when Pat Curran filled in and won the title.

Curran (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC) took the slot, dethroned Warren, and set up a title fight with Freire (17-1 MMA, 5-1 BFC). But once Freire was cleared to fight, Curran was in no rush to get back to competition.

Freire said it’s created some bad blood as they prepare to meet in Spike TV’s first-ever Bellator title fight.

“I was only unhappy with Pat Curran once, right after he won the belt (in March 2012),” Freire told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “He went on vacation. We wanted him to get his medicals so we could schedule our fight, but he kept saying he was on vacation and couldn’t do an exam, and it took him 40 days to do it. I was bothered.

“I thought he was running. Or maybe he was just tired and didn’t want to fight right away. But that affected me a lot because I had already been wanting to fight Joe Warren again, but I couldn’t do it because I got hurt. And I kept training, waiting for my turn, and after Pat won, Bellator couldn’t schedule our bout because he wouldn’t get his medical exams done. That bothered me. Everyone says he’s a great guy, a great athlete, and that he’s respectful. Regardless I am coming to hurt him in the cage.”

While the UFC boasts much of the world’s top talent, Bellator has always stocked a competitive featherweight division. Curran, Freire, Daniel Straus, Marlon Sandro, Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev are among the world’s top 145-pounders, and all are under the Bellator banner.

But specifically against Curran, Freire knows the margin for error is minimal.

“From my point of view, he’s a very conservative fighter,” Freire said of the champ. “He likes to fight without exposing himself much. He strikes but then pulls back. He is very evasive when attacking or defending. He has great takedowns. On the ground, he has good top control.

“He likes to fight in his comfort zone, and he’s very dangerous because he might seem very passive until he pulls a knockout or submission from his sleeve when least expected. He did that to Marlon Sandro and Joe Warren. That’s how he’s dangerous. He waits for errors. So part of my strategy is to make the least possible errors.”

The Curran-Freire title fight, which accompanies lightweight champion Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn at Thursday’s event, nearly took a detour this past year. With Curran on the sidelines due to a broken orbital, and with Freire chomping at the bit to get back in the cage, Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney briefly considered an interim title fight featuring Freire and Straus.

Ultimately, though, the organization opted to wait for Curran. That’s put Freire on the sidelines since May 2011, but he said ring rust won’t be an issue when he fights for what should be the biggest TV audience in Bellator history.

“I know I haven’t fought in over a year and a half, but I never stopped training,” he said. “I started training at 10 years of age. I’ve only ever stopped due to illness. I’ve never stopped for any other reason, even vacation. I’ve been a high-level athlete for a long time now, and now my time has arrived. This great moment for Bellator will hopefully be a great moment for me too, God willing.”